ASPEN — While the cycling world ties itself in knots over Lance Armstrong's dropping his fight last week against doping allegations, a relaxed-looking Armstrong said at the end of a mountain-bike race Saturday that he is at peace and focusing on his health and family.

"Nobody needs to cry for me. I'll be great," the mud-spattered cyclist said, without referring specifically to the allegations that shadow his incredible legacy as a seven-time Tour de France champion.

Armstrong finished second in the Power of Four race, won by 16-year-old Keegan Swirbul of Carbondale.

"I'm more at ease now than I've been in 10 years," Armstrong said. "I have five great kids and a wonderful lady in my life. My foundation is unaffected by all the noise out there."

At the finish line, Armstrong was greeted like a winner by a crowd clicking cellphone cameras and shouting their support. There were fist bumps and handshakes, as well as raised arms sporting yellow Livestrong bracelets.

Armstrong, who will be 41 next month, had to pull Keegan into the crush of people so that the real winner could get his due.

"This is the future of cycling," Armstrong said as he slung an arm around the teenager. "Cycling will be fine."

The Power of Four race — which traverses ski hills from Snowmass to Aspen, where Armstrong has a home — marked his first public appearance since the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency officially announced Friday that it was stripping Armstrong of his titles and essentially wiping out 16 years of his cycling career. The agency, which concluded he had used banned substances, also barred him for life from competing in the sport.

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Saturday's race was not sanctioned by USADA.

Armstrong has long denied accusations of doping but shocked the cycling world Thursday when he announced he would no longer fight the allegations that he had used banned substances while competing since 1996. He could have exercised his last option to fight the allegations by entering into arbitration, but he declined to do so, calling the agency's investigation a "witch hunt." USADA cited Armstrong's unwillingness to enter arbitration as a de facto admission of guilt.

"I am not going to address anything about that," he said as he prepared his mountain bike in a parking lot before the race. But he was willing to chat about his life now and the race ahead.

Armstrong said his focus was on that race — one he knew, from experience, would be grueling.

"It's a bad one," he said of the course. "There's a lot of climbing up and down. Last year, I crashed and didn't finish. ... Hopefully, we can stay upright today."

Armstrong was outfitted in the signature black and yellow of his Livestrong Foundation, which he started in 1997 after he suffered testicular cancer. The foundation has raised nearly $500 million for cancer research, awareness and support services.

Armstrong also sported Nike socks and shoes. Nike is one of the sponsors, along with Honey Stingers power foods, that have vowed to continue to sponsor Armstrong in spite of the loss of his titles.

Armstrong chose not to avoid the limelight following Thursday's bombshell announcement and the repercussions that have shaken the world of competitive cycling.

On Friday, he tweeted to his 3.3 million followers about his intention to participate in Saturday's race. He also said he would run in an Aspen marathon Sunday.

But after Saturday's race on the steep slopes of four ski areas — against 107 other riders in his class, many of them younger — Armstrong said he changed his mind about the marathon.

"I think I'm gonna put my feet up tomorrow," he said.

He said his life now is "not so much about the racing."

"I am going to raise my kids and provide for my family and be the fittest 40-year-old I can possibly be," he said before the race and before kissing Anna Hansen — his girlfriend and the mother of his fifth child — as he rode away to warm up.

Hansen would not comment on Armstrong's doping-allegation troubles.

"We'll be all right," she said.

Armstrong looked more relaxed than the other riders as he waited at the start line, leaning on his bike and chatting with the riders near him about the course that was promising to be muddy and slippery in places.

At race's end, he said he was going to get a cheeseburger.

Then the man who was once the winningest Tour de France bike rider in history — and who is still the most recognized face in professional cycling — rode off quickly on a downtown Aspen street, by himself.

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